Revolving target game



Dec. 4, 1962 E. WALZ REVOLVING TARGET GAME Filed July 20. 1960 INVENTOR f/PW/NMMLZ provided with several terraces.

United States Patent 3,066,938 REVOLVING TARGET GAME Erwin Waiz, Endersbach, Kreis Waibiingen, Germany,

assignor to Ulmer Presswerk Franz Zwiclr KG, Neu- Ulm (Danube), Germany, a firm of Germany Filed July 20, 1960, Ser. No. 44,642 Claims priority, application Germany Aug. 5, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-401) The present invention relates to a game apparatus and more particularly to a target game with revolving targets and at least one device for shooting a projectile at one of these targets.

There are numerous designs of such game apparatus known in the art. Thus, for example, in one apparatus it is the object of the game to throw individual projectiles by means of a catapult-like launching device in a more or less arcuate trajectory at a stationary target which is Another kind of target game is provided with a disk which is rotatable about a vertical axis and carries a plurality of flaps which are pivotable about horizontal axes and serve as targets at which a projectile is to be shot. In another kind of target game, which hardly requires any skill and is purely a game of chance, a revolving target disk which rotates about a horizontal axis and the target surface of which is divided into a plurality of segments is mounted in front of a stationary target disk. Since the speed of the revolving disk is rather high, the player throwing darts at the two target disks cannot distinguish the individual segmental target fields and has to depend totally upon his luck as to which of the rotating fields he will hit. The same applies to a similar game of chance in which in front of a revolving target disk, which is likewise divided into a plurality of segmental surfaces, a propeller is mounted which rotates about the same horizontal axis as the disk but in the opposite direction, and forms two additional target surfaces. it is also known in target games to utilize the target as such to retain the projectiles after they have been thrown or shot so that they will not fall on the floor or ricochet from the target.

Apart from the fact that these known game apparatus are rather complicated and therefore expensive to make, a target thereof which is designed to hold the projectiles can only hold those which have been properly aimed at and impinged on it, while those projectiles which miss the target or are deflected by it always are a source of danger to other persons standing near it.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a target game of skill which may be easily manufactured and which excludes any danger to the player or other persons.

This object is attained according to the invention by providing such a game apparatus in which two target bodies are disposed behind each other in the line of the trajectory of the projectile and one of these target bodies is stationary, While the other revolves, and in which the stationary target body which is provided with target openings forming a shell enclosing the revolving target body which is likewise provided with target openings and revolves at such a low speed that the player can continuously observe the target openings of the inner revolving body. The deciding factor in this game is therefore the power of observation, the skill, and the quick reaction of the player who has to shoot the projectiles at the two target bodies at the instant at which one of the target openings in the revolving inner target body coincides with the target opening in the stationary outer target body which lies within the trajectory of the projectile. The game apparatus according to the invention is especially interesting and exciting because the player actuating the 3,%,933 Patented Bee. 4, 19oz I2 shooting device will be very easily irritated by the constant relative movement between the target openings of the revolving and stationary target bodies.

These target openings in the stationary target body are preferably made larger than those in the revolving target body to such an extent that the projectiles will under any circumstances pass into the stationary target body and be retained therein even though they have missed the target openings in the inner target body.

In order to facilitate as much as possible the effort of removing the projectiles from the apparatus which have been shot into one or both of the target bodies, the upper side of each body is preferably provided with an opening through which the projectiles will immediately drop out when the entire apparatus is turned upside down.

For insuring an adequate illumination of the revolving target body to facilitate the players observation of the position of its target openings relative to those in the stationary target body, it is advisable to make the stationary body at least partly of a transparent material, for example, a transparent plastic.

The stationary target body preferably consists of a hemispherical cup which is mounted on a base and rotatably supports the revolving target body, and of a hemispherical hood or the like which is removably attached to the lower cup. The revolving target body may likewise be composed of a hollow hemispherical cup and a similar hood which is removable therefrom.

For increasing the difficulty of the game, the shooting device may also be mounted on an arm or the like which is secured to the base and extends in the radial direction thereto and permits the shooting device to be adjusted to different distances from the stationary target body along the length of this arm.

The above-mentioned and further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof, particularly when read with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a perspective view of the target game while in operation.

As clearly apparent from this drawing, the game apparatus according to the invention comprises a base 1 and mounted thereon or integral therewith a hollow hemispherical cup 2 on which at equal angular distances three radially extending arms 3 are mounted. The outer end 5 of each arm 3 is supported, for example, on a table top, by a bracket 4-, and each arm 3 carries a shooting device ,or projectile launcher 6. Each of these shooting devices may be made in the form of'an airplane and has a striker pin '7 which is acted upon 'by a spring, not shown, and is slidable within a longitudinal bore of the shooting device 6. Thus, when a projectile 8 is inserted into the bore from the front thereof or through an opening in the top of the shooting device, and the striker pin 7 is pulled back against the action of the spring and is then released, the projectile 8 Will be propel ed from the bore in the radial direction toward the cup 2. By a simple clamping device, not shown, each shooting device 6 may be adjusted to difierent positions along the length of the associated arm 5 to vary the degree of dificulty of playing the game.

Underneath the base l, a suitable driving mechanism, schematically shown at 24, is mounted, which through its vertical shaft 9 is adapted to rotate a hollow spherical target body ll which is provided at its greatest horizontal circumference with a plurality of target openings 12, which are preferably spaced at equal distances from each other along a horizontal great circle of the body 11, as shown. The target body 11 consists of two hemispherical cups 13 and 14, and the upper cup 14 is provided with an upper opening 15 through which the projectiles 8 may be removed.

w The upper part 14 of the rotary target body 11 which is adapted to revolve about a vertical axis within the stationary hemispherical cup 2 on base 1, is surrounded by a hemispherical hood in which consists of a transparent plastic and also has an upper opening 17 for removing the projectiles 3 therefrom. The hemispherical cups 2 and 16, concentrically surrounding the body 11 with clearance, are further provided with corresponding semicircular recesses 19 and 21, each pair of which forms a circular target opening 22 the center of which coincides with the center of one of target openings 12 when the rotary target body 11 is turned accordingly, and which also lies within the substantially rectilinear trajectory 18 of the projectiles 8 which are shot from the associated launching device 6. These target openings 22 in the stationary outer target body 2, T6 are made of a considerably greater diameter than the target openings 12 in the rotary target body '11. so that the projectiles 8 will under any circumstances pass into the inside 23 of the stationary spherical shell 2, to even though they have missed the target openings E2 of the revolving target body 11.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the apended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A target game comprising a hollow body centered on a substantially vertical axis, said body having a depending shaft, drive means coupled with said shaft for rotating said body about said axis, at least one launching site remote from said body having means for propelling a projectile along a predetermined trajectory onto a periphery of said body, said body having a peripheral aperture larger than said projectile so located on said body as to pass through a position of alignment with said trajectory in the course of each revolution about said axis, and a stationary shell coaxially surrounding said body with sufiicient clearance to intercept and accumulate projectiles ricocheting from the solid surface of said body, said shell having an opening larger than said aperture and centered on said trajectory for admitting projectiles propelled from said launching site toward said body, said body and said shell together forming an invertible unit provided with aligned holes opposite said shaft for discharging spent projectiles therefrom upon inversion of said unit.

2. A target game comprising a hollow body of generally spherical configuration, said body having a depend ing shaft, drive means coupled with said shaft for rotating said body about a substantially vertical axis, a plurality of angularly spaced launching sites remote from said body having means for propelling projectiles along respective predetermined trajectories onto the periphery of said body, said body having at least one peripheral aperture larger than said projectiles so located on a substantially horizontal great circle of said body as to pass through a position of alignment with each of said trajectories in the course of each revolution about said axis, and a stationary shell of generally spherical configuration concentrically surrounding said body with suficient clearance to intercept and accumulate projectiles ricocheting from the solid surface of said body, said shell having openings larger than said aperture each centered on a respective trajectory for admitting projectiles propelled from said launching sites toward said body, said body and said shell together forming an invertible unit provided with aligned holes opposite said shaft for discharging spent projectiles therefrom upon inversion of said unit.

3. A target game comprising a hollow body of generally spherical configuration, said body having a depending shaft, drive means coupled with said shaft for rotating said body about a substantially vertical axis, a plurality of angularly spaced launching sites remote from said body having means for propelling projectiles along respective predetermined trajectories onto the periphery of said body, said body having at least one peripheral aperture larger than said projectiles so located on a substantially horizontal great circle or said body as to pass through a position of alignment with each of said trajectories in the course of each revolution about said axis, and an at least partly transparent stationary shell of generally spherical configuration concentrically surrounding said body with suificient clearance to intercept and accumulate projectiles ricocheting from the solid surface of said body, said shell having openings larger than said aperture each centered on a respective trajectory for admitting projectiles propelled from said launching sites toward said body, said body and said shell together forming an invertible unit provided with aligned holes opposite said shaft for discharging spent projectiles therefrom upon inversion of said unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 659,555 Shuster Oct. 9, 1900 714,770 Zelch Dec. 2, 1902 1,736,244 Baker Nov. 19, 1929 2,734,745 Tarte Feb. 14, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 790,426 France Sept. 9, 1935 

